We left the warm company of Chad’s family and headed northward on our own towards Mt. Cook.

After putting it off for days, we finally went wine tasting today. These people know how to make a Pinot Noir.

We started the day touring an abandoned gold mining town whose heyday was around 1871 and, later, Queenstown.

If you Google “Wanaka Tree” you get back a specific tree growing in Lake Wanaka.  It dumbfounds the locals, who do not understand why this particular tree has gained such notoriety. We decided to see for ourselves.

Today started early. After a few hours sleep we were off to the airport to visit Milford Sound.  Rather than bus we chartered a six seater Cessna to fly us there and back.

You can imagine my annoyance when I fell ass over tea kettle into the lake, camera and all.

We stayed close to home today. The clouds cleared finally and the typical, glorious New Zealand summer day presented itself just in time for the solstice.

When I asked Pete, the family patriarch, if what we were about to do was legal, I was pretty sure no matter his answer we wouldn’t get in trouble.

We have arrived.